The Mammoth Book Of Vampire Stories Written By Women

Remedios stood rooted to the earth as Uncle Antonio sliced the throat from side to side. The animal reared, gnashed her teeth, howled — a haunting sound. She dropped to the earth, first on her front knees, then her side. Before she stopped twitching, the women rushed to the corpse and collected the spilled blood into basins, Remedios's mother among them. Each family gathered as much of the precious life-blood as they could, struggling to keep it from seeping into the earth. Then another dog was captured and brought snarling to the front, and Remedios tensed, tears still stinging her eyes. He was strong, this one, filled with life, not as large as the biggest animal, but his spirit felt enormous, and all could sense that. "The one best suited to survive," Uncle Antonio said, and Remedios watched her uncle feed that dog the blood of his slain sister. And then she watched her uncle sip of the blood himself.

"Here, Remedios, drink this," her mother said. "It will make you strong. You are the strongest, you must survive."

Obediently, she placed her lips against the cool metal basin and drank the steaming thick blood down, as if it were milk. "The weak feed the strong," her grandmother had said as she drank. "Sometimes the strong ones escape the herd and become wild, because once they have tasted it, they can only feed on blood. It has always been this way and will be this way again. The strong must be encouraged to survive, or all die."

Remedios stared at her blood-covered hands. Why did they not repulse her as before? She sucked the sweet juice and could almost feel it charging her body with energy, just as she now remembered the blood of the weak dog sparking through every inch of her being.

She put the roast away and returned to her bedroom, to the dresser. Carefully she removed the rosary from the leather pouch and held it under the night-table light.

So many teeth! Some looked so fragile they might crumble to dust if she touched them too much. Others seemed larger, stronger, more capable of cutting, chewing, taking in and transforming the food that would nourish and sustain. And then the one so unlike the others. One designed by nature for survival. A fierce tooth. It could defend and protect, or destroy. She lifted the rosary over her head and placed it around her neck, letting it drop under her T-shirt. She felt the cool teeth rest against her skin. The point of one tooth pressed slightly between her breasts.

Remedios did not even need to ask herself the question she had been avoiding, for she knew in her heart the answer. The vampire tooth had come from her own mouth. A tooth unlike the others. The tooth of the strongest. The one who could live and survive in a place not like her homeland. The one who could look after an entire family, and make certain they were provided for. The one who had the strength to prey on the weak in order to survive, for survival was crucial. Her grandmother had said this; this is why they fed her the blood of the weak dog. Why her mother had named her God's remedy; her mother was wise. She knew Remedios was born to remedy the wrongs that had been her legacy.

And now, images came to Remedios of the vampire, and of el Chupa-cabra , and she no longer felt threatened.

As the sky grew lighter, the knowledge that Remedios had unearthed with the rosary did not fade, but solidified within her, melding worries and insecurities, leaving behind a certainty from which to act.

The house lay shrouded in quiet, still as the dead. Remedios passed the rooms where Jess and Robert slept without pausing. She continued along the second-floor hallway, watching her shadow creep over the walls. Finally, she reached the master bedroom and opened the door quietly.

Inside the room the air smelled of sweat mixed with the fragrance of Mrs Richview's perfumes. Remedios stared at the couple for a moment, making her decision. Her employers lay sleeping soundly, Mrs Richview with plugs in her ears, and a mask over her eyes. Mr Richview sprawled close to the edge, on his back, snoring loudly. Remedios made her way to his side of the bed. She crouched beside him and reached out to touch gingerly the bulging blue in his neck. His breath caught for a moment. He opened his eyes and stared fearfully at her. She placed her finger to her lips and quietly whispered, " Someter ." His eyelids lowered as if he longed to return to his dreams. He turned his head, the vein an offering.

Remedios pierced it easily, quickly, naturally, like any strong animal that had learned somewhere in its life to love the taste of blood.